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Rejanish K.V v. K. Deepa

Civil Appeal · 2025 INSC 965Decided 12 Aug 2025
Civil Appeal No. 3947 of 2020 (with a large batch of connected writ petitions, review petitions, and appeals)
Chief Justice · Justice K. Vinod Chandran · Justice N.V. Anjaria

Background

This was a large batch of petitions effectively seeking review of the Supreme Court's 2020 judgment in Dheeraj Mor v. High Court of Delhi, which had held that judicial officers with prior Bar experience could not claim direct-recruitment District Judge posts reserved for practising advocates under Article 233(2) of the Constitution. Many petitioners argued that this three-judge ruling should have been decided by a five-judge Constitution Bench instead, since it interpreted a constitutional provision.

Decision Breakdown

The Court noted that Article 145(3) of the Constitution requires a minimum of five judges to decide any case involving a substantial question of constitutional interpretation, yet the earlier Dheeraj Mor ruling on Article 233(2) had been decided by only three judges. Examining the two Constitution Bench precedents relied on by opponents of reconsideration (Rameshwar Dayal and Chandra Mohan), the Court found they addressed different questions and did not resolve the specific issues now raised. The Court therefore held that the questions of (i) whether judicial officers with seven years' prior Bar experience are eligible for direct recruitment, and (ii) whether eligibility is assessed at the time of appointment or application, are substantial constitutional questions requiring a five-judge Constitution Bench, and referred the matter accordingly.

Lesson Learnt

Any Supreme Court ruling that interprets the meaning of a constitutional provision must, under Article 145(3), be decided by a bench of at least five judges: a smaller bench's interpretation on such questions can later be referred for reconsideration by a larger bench.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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